Lantern



-1 that is,

. cordance with Patented Apr. 24 1928,

ALEXANDER H. .H NDIJAN, on ST. tours mrsson'm;

" names a t rs '29, 1925. 's r 1 in. 55,665,

This invention relates generally to hand lanterns and particularly to the type of hand lanterns used by trainmen for transmitting signals, anobjectof the invention being to produce a hand lanternprovidedj with im-f for regulating the passage of proved means air through the openings in the wall of the dome portion of thelantern. e

As is well known, a lantern of the type disclosed herein includes a dome at the up per portion of'sai'd lantern, the wall of which is provided with perforationsthrough which vapors resulting from the p'resenceof the flame within the globe of thelantern may escape from through the apertures in the dome of the lantern wherebythe flame within the lantern is dimmed and frequently completely extinguished. The apertures in I lantern are so arranged and are of such dimensions that under ordinary circumstances, when the velocity of the wind is not extremely high, the fiaine will notbe dimmed or extinguished by air openings in thedome of the lantern. How ever, it frequently happens terns are in use in storms and at other times when the air adjacent tothe lantern moves very fast, and the predominant feature of the present invention resides in thefact that the lantern'disclosed herein is provided with means whereby the sizes of the apertures in the dome of the lantern may be regulated, or, if need be, said apertures may be completely closed, thus eliminating the danger that the flame within extinguished the lantern will be dimmedor by the passagev through the apertures 1n the dome of an excessive amount of air at a high velocity. I I

With the foregoing and. other objectsin view, theinvention comprises the novel construction, combination and arrangementor parts hereinafter more specifically described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown the preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it is to be understood thatthe invention comprehends changes, variations and modifications which come within the scope ofqthe claims hereuntoappendedlf t J Fig. Tie a View of a lantern madein'acmyfinjvention and showing the improved means for controlling the passage said lantern. 'Trainmens lanternsare subjected to rather severe usage, andone sourceoftrouble is encountered in connection with the passage of air-currents,

the dome of the p assing, through the that these lan-' them in the drawing",

Fig. I

of air through the apertures in the dome portion thereof. p

Fig. 11 is across 'sectionon line II-II of Fig. Llooking in thedirection indicated by the arrow. V

In the drawing, A designates a hand lantern of the t-ypeused by trainmen, which lantern is provided with an oil font holder B secured in anysuitable manner, as, for instance, by welding, 'to a guard frame C, and said oil font holder is provided with air in duction ports'D. E designates a globe seat which arranged withinithe oil font holder. B and is adapted to receive the bottom face or the lantern globe F, a wall Gbeing extended, downwardly from the inner edge. of said globe seatto provide an annular space H between the side wall'ortheoil font holder B and said wall G. In the use of a lantern made in accordance with my invention, air to sustain the flame passes through the ports Dinto" the space H,andthrough ports G inthe wall G to the interior of the globe F. J designates the dome of my. improved lantern, which includes a breast portion J and atop portion J" comprising an annular upwardly extended side wall. The dome J is usually hinged to the guard frame G of the lantern, andsaid dome is ordinarily'provided with a latching device so that it may be secured 'to saidguard frame in a closed position, but as the arrangement of hinging the dome to the lantern frame and the latching device are Wellknown, I have not shown nor will I describe them herein.

K designates the globe holder, or wind break, of my improved lantern, which includes an annular plate '1 arranged transversely of the lantern. Located at the innor edge of the annular plate 1 is an upwardly extended annular wall 2 at the upper end of which an annular inwardly extended wall 3 isarranged: l designates an annular, vertical wall which is arranged at the inner edgeiof theinwardly extended wall 3; The annular plate 1 and the walls 2, 3' and i are preferably, .though not necessarily, formed integralwith each other. By referring to or the globe holder K provide an annular seat' for the upper portion of the lantern globeFm 5 designates a coil spring, preferably conical in shape, which is arranged abovethe globe holder K and is adapted to exert downward pressure thereagainst, thus it will be noted that the walls 2' and 3 causing the globe holder to be forced into of air between the bottom face of the globe and the globe seat is prevented. v

Secured by welding or otherwiseto the breast portion J of the lantern dome J at the inner face thereof is a member which is approximately cup-shaped in cross section, said member comprising .an annular side wall, a bottom wall, and an attaching flange. The bottom wallof the cup-shaped member 6 is provided with a central opening 7 through which the lantern globe F extends, said opening 7 being of considerably greater diameter than the adjacent portion of the lantern globe. The bottom wall of the member 6 is adapted to act as a stop which limits the downward movement of the globe holder K, but whena lantern globe is in place in a lantern said globe holder is separated from said bottom wall of said mem berfgas shown in Fig. I, to provide a space L betweenthe plate 1 and the bottom wall of the member 6. Because of the arrangement just described, air may pass through the opening 7 in the bottom wall of the member 6 and horizontally through the space L, after which said air passes upwardly around the outer edge of the plate 1 andrinto the interior of the domeywith theresult that there will always be a suflicient amount of fresh air adjacent to the globe holder to maintain the'flame when a downward movement of vapor within the globe is caused. Also, because of the tortuous path traveled by the air no swiftly moving currents of air are produced within the dome which would tend to disturb the flame.

As already stated, the dome J of my improved lantern comprises a breast portion J and a top portion J The annular wall of the top portion J of the lantern is provided with rows of perforations formed therethrough, there being a row of perforations 9 adjacent to the lower end of the top portion 5* and a pair of rows of perforations 10 adjacent to the top of theportion J. The portion J of the dome of my'improved lantern is open at the top, the annular side wall of said portion J" being turned inwardly at the upper edge thereof, as shown in Fig. l, to provide a strengtl'iening flange 11.

12 designates a member having the approximate shape of an inverted cup which fits over the top portion J" of the lantern dome. The member 12 comprises an annular side wall 13 and a top wall 14:, and the diameter of said member 12 is such that when said member is in place on the top portion J b of the dome J the side wall 13 thereof contacts closely with the side wall of said top portion J", as shown in Fig. I. Also, the cup-shaped member 12 is of such heightthat the side wall of said member 12 extends frolnthe top to the bottom of the side wall of the portion J of the dome, with the inside face of the top wall 14 of the member 12 contacting with the top face of the inwardly extended flange 11. Formed in the annular side wall of the portion J of the dome is anannular depression 15 into which an annular inwardly extended head 16 on the annular side wall of the cup shaped member 12 extends. The depression 15 and head 16 are preferably both formed simultaneously after the cup-shaped member '12 has been arranged in place on the 'top portion J b of the lantern dome, said depression and bead being formed by applying pressure to the outer face of the side wall of the cup-shaped member 12 so that a portionof said side wall of said member and a portion of the side .wall of the portion J arepressed inwardly. By this arrange ment the cup-shaped member 12 is prevented from moving upwardly relative to the portion J, although said cup-shaped member may be rotated relative to said portion J b of thedome.

The side wall of the cup-shaped. member 12 is provided with apertures which agree as to size and locationwith the apertures 9 andlO formed in the side wall of the dome portion Jf, there being a row of apertures 17 adjacent to the bottom edge of the side wall of said cup-shaped portion and a pair of rows of apertures 18 adjacent to the top of the side 'wallof said cup-shaped member. The apertures 17 and 18 formed in the side wall of the cup-shaped member may be caused to register completely with the apertures 9 and 10 in the side wall of the portion J of the dome, or by rotating the cup shaped member 12 relative to the dome portion J the sizes of the registering portions of the apertures may be reduced, so that smaller passageways are provided through which airmay pass into the interior of the dome If desired the cup-shaped member 12 may be rotated sufiiciently to completely close the openings in the dome, thus preventing the passage of any air through the openings.

To limit the rotary movement of the cupshaped member 12 I provide the inwardly extended flange 11 at the top edge of the annular wall of the dome portion J with a pair of spaced apart extensions 19. The cup-shaped member 12 is provided with a stop inthe form of a. rivet or pin 20, which is securedto and extends downwardly from the top wall of said cup-shaped member, said rivet or pin being located between the spaced apart extensions 19, as shown in- Fig. II. Because of the arrangement just described, the cup-shaped member may be rotated only a certain distance due to the fact that the rivet or pin contacts with the oppositely disposed extensions 19, when the cup-shaped member has reached the limit of its movement. c

WVhen my improved lantern is in use at time when the velocity of the wind is so great that air passing into the dome through the openings tends to interfere with the flame, it is only necessary to rotate the cupshaped member 12 so as to reduce the size of the openings in the dome, or in an extreme case the cup-shaped member12 may be rotated sufficiently to completely .close the openings in the dome. a

If the apertures in the dome'oi' the lantern were completely closed and the ordinary globe holder were employed theflame within the lantern would be extinguished due to the accumulation of vapors within the dome, which vapors would be caused to move downwardly within the globe when the lantern was swung about to transmit a signal. However, when the lantern includes as a part thereof one of the globe holders disclosed in the application for Letters Patent mentioned above, and the apertures are completely closed, the vapors from within the lantern globe pass around the outer edge of the plate 1 of the globe holder K through the space L and escape freely from the lantern through the central opening 7 in the bottom wall ofthe member 6. -In this connection it is pointed out that the size and shape of the globe is very important in permitting proper combustion for substantial flame equipoise when the lantern is being quietly or violently swung about.

I claim: v

1. A lantern having a dome provided with apertures formed through a wall thereof, an annular rotatable member arranged adjacent to said apertured wall of said dome, and means whereby said rotatable member is rotatably connected to said dome but is prevented from moving longitudinally thereof, said means comprising an annular bead formed on one of said elements and extended into an annular depression in the other of said elements.

2. A lantern having a dome provided with i apertures formed through a wall thereof, a member enclosingthe apertured portion of said dome, said member being provided with a wall having apertures formed therethrough and said member beingrotatable so as to permit the apertures in the wallof said member to be moved relative to the apertures in said dome whereby the passage of,

air through the last mentioned apertures may beregulated, means whereby said rotatable member is rotatably connected to said dome but is prevented from moving longitudinally thereof, said means comprising an annular bead formed on one of said elementsand extended into an annular depression in the other of said elements, and a stop member on one of said elementsadapted to contact with abutment faces on the other of said-elements whereby the rotary movement of said rotatable member is limited. i

3. A lantern having a globe, a dome provided with apertures, means whereby the effective diameters of said apertures may be reduced, a globe holder, and a cup-shaped member enclosing said globe holder, said globe holder being spaced apart from a wall of said member toprovide a space through which air and vapors may pass into and out of said lantern dome.

4. A lantern having a globe, a dome provided with apertures, means whereby the efiective'diameters of said apertures may be reduced, a globe holder comprising an annular portion, and a housing enclosing said annular portion of said globe holder, a wall of said housing being provided with an opening through which said globe extends and said annular portion of said globe holder being spaced apart from said wall of said housingto provide a space through which air and vapors may pass'into and outof said lantern dome. p

I 5. A lantern having adome provided with apertures formed through a wall thereof, an annular rotatable member arranged adjacent to said apertured wall of said dome,

said annular rotatable member beingprovided with apertures adapted to be moved relative to the apertures in the wall of said dome whereby the passage of fluid through the apertures in said dome is regulated, a globe, a globe holder having an annular lower portion, and a housing enclosing said annular lower portion of said globe holder, the lower wall of said housing being provided with an opening through which said globe extends and said annular lower portion of said globe hold-er being spaced apart from said lower Wall'of said housing to provide a space through which air and vapors maypass into and out of said lantern dome.

Intestimony that I claim the foregoing I hereunto aflix my signature. p

' ALEXANDER H. HANDLAK, 

